Make no mistake: autumn is my favourite season. I know I'm not alone in that, right? But even those who share my love of it often follow up by saying that winter is coming. Quite often I just keep quiet then, but sometimes I'll admit that I don't
Quite possibly you're tired of me saying this, because I know I've mentioned it many times before. Not just here, but in countless comments and conversations. But have you listened to the BBC's World Book Club podcasts yet? I just pulled out an old episode yesterday, listened to Lionel Shriver
Tonight's the night. The 2011 Giller Prize. On Sunday, I finished my last of the sixteen longlisted books. The links to my responses are below, with musings on: G for Giller-bility I for Inner workings L for Language L for Locale E for Engagement and R for Readers wanted. Spoiler-free
Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table McClelland & Stewart, 2011 You can learn a lot from reading novels. For instance, in reading this one, you could learn the following: How to spell Egypt (Ever Grasping Your Precious Tits); The way to a first-class breakfast on a cruise even if you're not
Guy Vanderhaeghe's A Good Man McClelland & Stewart, 2011 Sebastian Barry has said that a good historical novel is about "retrieving the present moment".* That is true of Guy Vanderhaeghe's A Good Man. From the beautiful but austere cover art of the frontier, to the detailed descriptions of fort and
